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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24945568">spare me over 'til another year</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ASpotofBother/pseuds/ASpotofBother'>ASpotofBother</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>L.A. By Night (Web Series), Vampire: The Masquerade</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Character Study, Gen, Kinda?, Pre-Canon, genfic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 01:34:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,385</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24945568</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ASpotofBother/pseuds/ASpotofBother</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jasper returns to his haven.</p><p>Mild spoilers for S1Ch1 and major spoilers for S1Ch7 &amp; S1Ch8.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>spare me over 'til another year</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I wrote this at like 4 A.M., so I apologize for my sleep-deprived brain.  I have also only watched through the season 2 epilogues, so if something happens in later seasons that makes anything contained in this fic non-canon, please simply consider it an AU.  Or what it is - a fan trying to rummage around inside this character's head.  Title is taken from <i>O' Death</i>.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jasper adjusted the bag slung across his shoulder and studied Victor’s text message.</p><p>
  <i>Meeting tomorrow at the college asap.  We need to talk.</i>
</p><p>He pressed his tongue against the back of a fang, considering.  Odds were good the Ventrue just wanted to assemble the coterie to address the matter of the poacher that was clearly operating in their domain, but the Beast still stirred uneasily in his gut.</p><p>
  <i>“What if they found out about...”</i>
</p><p>His fingers twitched, but he pushed the voice back down.  His reply was simple:</p><p>
  <i>Okay.</i>
</p><p>He rose from his crouch at the side of the road and, still cloaked by Unseen Passage, crossed to the front door of his haven.  He’d watched and waited for ten minutes; as best he could determine, there were no eyes to observe him as he dropped his Obfuscation and slipped through the heavy service hatch.</p><p>He made his way through the cramped tunnels with an ease borne of familiarity, reaching up after the appropriate number of turns to slide the panel hidden in the ceiling aside.  He hoisted himself up and slid the panel back into place before he stood, taking a moment to stretch to his full height and roll his head on his neck.  A soft, pleased growl escaped him when his neck cracked.  Then he disarmed the alarm and stepped into his sanctum.  Low-watt bulbs flickered to life when he flipped the switch next to the door – a gift from Abrams for one of his many “jobs.”  Across the room, Tara blinked at the sudden light, then glared at him through the bars of the cage.</p><p>“Good evening, Tara,” he said, stepping further into the room and swinging the bag off his back.  She didn’t reply, but then, she rarely did.  At least she’d given up snarling and cursing at him.  That had been tiresome.  She’d never given any hint as to why Abrams had ordered her imprisonment, and Jasper had never asked.  There were some things he was paid very well to not care about.</p><p>He tucked his bag under his arm and crossed the room, heading for the library.  “Would you like something to read?” he asked her.</p><p>She eyed him narrowly before she shrugged.  He dipped his head in acknowledgment before he passed through the door.  Laying his bag on the edge of a narrow desk from IKEA – another payment from Abrams – he scanned the shelves for the next book in <i>The Dark Tower</i> series.  She’d been working her way through it the nights he’d remained at his haven to study the labyrinth or the tome that seemed to relate to it.  Finding the book he wanted, he pulled it off the shelf and headed back to his unwilling guest.</p><p>She stood at the bars, expression carefully neutral.  Jasper came to a halt in front of her and extended the book, holding it deliberately outside the cage.  Her mouth twisted, but she reached for it.  He darted his free hand out and captured her wrist; she hissed and tried to pull away instinctually.</p><p>He fixed her with a hard, flat stare.  “I’d <i>really</i> rather not do this right now.”</p><p>Something hateful flashed through her eyes.  He waited.  She knew what would happen if she chose to fight him.  Finally, she clenched her jaw and turned her face away.</p><p>He studied her another moment, trying to determine if she would actually remain passive or was just planning to try and claw his eyes out before he brought her wrist to his mouth.  She tensed when his fangs sank into her skin, but she didn’t resist him.  After a few seconds, he felt her muscles slacken as the pleasure of the Kiss took over.</p><p>He didn’t take much, only a few mouthfuls, and his Beast growled its dissatisfaction when he pulled back and licked the wound closed.</p><p>
  <i>“We should take more.  She’s ours, Abrams gave her to us.  Why shouldn’t we take all we want?”</i>
</p><p><i>Quiet</i>, he snarled back.</p><p>He placed the book in Tara’s hand and released her.  Her foot caught on the edge of the bare mattress as she stepped back and she stumbled, just slightly.  He made a mental note to bring her someone to feed on soon.  She blinked, shaking off the effects of the Kiss, and glared at him.  There was nothing neutral in her expression now.  “I’m going to kill you when I get out of here,” she spat.</p><p>He smiled humorlessly.  “Maybe.  But for now, you’re in there and I’m out here.  Enjoy the book.”</p><p>She growled in impotent frustration as he turned away, but he didn’t pay her any further attention.</p><p>He returned to the library and slid three items from his bag: his notebook, the tome related to the labyrinth, and a book on the occult he had traded from Eva for a future favor.  He would’ve preferred to study the labyrinth itself, but there was only a little over an hour before dawn and he didn’t want to risk becoming lost and having to spend the day there if he was expected to be at the college first thing tomorrow evening.  He settled into the chair, arranging his materials carefully before he got to work.</p><p>He was puzzling over two similar illustrations found in both books, trying to determine if they were meant to be the same symbol, when his phone rang.</p><p>“Jasper!  JasperJasperJasper!  Jaz!”</p><p>Jasper sighed and propped his forehead in his hand.  “Don’t call me Jaz, X.”</p><p>“Oh, okay.  Can I call you Per?”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Please?  You can call me – hmm…  Wait, what starts with ‘X?’”</p><p>Lots of things.  Not that he was going to encourage this.  “Was there a reason you called?”</p><p>“Xylophone?”  The Malkavian was muttering to himself, apparently having distracted himself with his own question.  “Xenophobia – no, that’s bad.  Definitely not – oh!  I called to be the first one to congratulate you on your pending nuptials!”  His voice grew anxious.  “I am the first, right?”</p><p>Jasper was used to the unexpected twists a conversation with X entailed, but that was enough to make him blink.  “Yes, you’re definitely the first.  What makes you think I’m getting married?”</p><p>“Oh, good,” X said with a gusty sigh of relief.  “It would be <i>awful</i> if the best man didn’t congratulate the groom.”</p><p>“X.  Why do you think I’m getting married?”</p><p>“Hm?  Oh!  I had a vision.  Of you and bells ringing.  They always ring bells at weddings.”</p><p>“Right.”  He wiped his hand down his face, tapping a finger against his chin.  “They also ring them at funerals.”</p><p>X gasped in horrified dismay.  “Jasper, you can’t <i>die</i>!”</p><p>“I mean, technically, I’m already dead.”</p><p>There was a short silence.  “Yeah,” X said, his voice quiet and sad.  The cheerful tone when he spoke again was weak, clearly forced.  “Well, even dead people love weddings, right?”</p><p>“I guess some might,” Jasper allowed.  He sighed again.  “X, I don’t want you to worry about this, okay?”</p><p>“But there’s so much planning to do!” X protested.</p><p>“X.  I’m not getting married.  I promise that if that changes, you’ll be the first person I tell.”</p><p>“Okay...”  There was something scared and a little lost in the Malkavian’s voice.  “Just promise you won’t die.  Die-die.  Again.”</p><p>“I’ll try.”</p><p>They both knew it was the best either of them could offer.  Jasper said goodbye and hung up, drumming his fingers against his desktop.  Bells...he guessed he could avoid the college’s chapel, just to be safe.  Not everything X saw happened, or turned out to be true, but it didn't hurt to exercise a little caution.  He glanced at the small clock sitting on the edge of the desk and grimaced.  It was almost dawn.</p><p>He stood and carefully marked his place in each book before he slid everything back into his bag.  Tucking it back up underneath his arm, he exited the library and turned toward the bedroom.  “Lights out,” he told Tara, though he left them burning.  She ignored him, keeping her face stubbornly buried in her book.  He slid the bag underneath his bed before stepping out of his shoes.  He unbuckled his knife’s sheath from his back and slipped it underneath his pillow.  Then he lay down, curling on his side, let his eyes fall closed, and waited for the dawn to break.</p>
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